Antonio Ramos

Academic

PhD in Biological Sciences (1994), Politechnic University of Valencia (Spain).
BSc in Biological Sciences (1989), University of Valencia (Spain).

Research

Fungi are a worldwide problem as they are one of the main causes of food spoilage. Besides, these microorganisms are able to produce toxic compounds, named mycotoxins, dangerous both for human and animals. My research has been focused in the last 20 years in the field of filamentous fungi and mycotoxins, and the primary objective of my research has been the prevention of the presence of these toxins in the food chain, by addressing the following lines of research:

a) evaluation of the incidence of mycotoxins in foods and feeds in Spain,
b) exposure assessment of Spanish population to mycotoxins,
c) prediction and prevention of mycotoxins during crop post-harvest, applying predictive mycology tool,
d) assessment of the impact of food processing operations on mycotoxins present in the raw food materials,
e) evaluation of the efficacy and control of the impact of mycotoxins in raw materials of animal origin by using mycotoxin adsorbents in feed.

Additionally, and through the work developed in the UdL Technical Scientific Service “Microbiological Quality in the Agro-food Sector”, microbiological food analysis and R+D+I support to food companies in the development of new products or in the evaluation of the food safety of foodstuffs.